For more than a decade, the Nashville Financial Empowerment Center has helped residents take practical steps toward greater financial stability. What began in 2013 as a no-cost, one-on-one financial counseling resource through a partnership between the Mayor’s Office and United Way of Greater Nashville has grown into a broader economic mobility platform—one that helps families build savings habits, manage debt, improve credit and plan for the future.
Today, the FEC is entering its next chapter, advancing its scope and scale.
Why This Evolution Matters
For ALICE households—families who are working but still struggling to afford the basics—financial progress can be fragile. The high cost of housing, transportation, child care, health care and other essentials often makes it difficult to save, invest or plan beyond the next emergency.
This evolution reflects a larger shift in the FEC’s work: helping families not only recover from financial strain, but also build the confidence, habits and resources that can change what is possible for the next generation.
A Decade of Growth
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- 2013: The FEC opens its doors, offering no-cost, one-on-one financial counseling to Nashville residents.
- 2023: The FEC celebrates its 10-year anniversary and hosts a ribbon cutting for its new location at 217 S. 10th St.
- Impact: Since opening its doors in 2013, the Nashville FEC has helped more than 11,890 clients reduce debt by more than $39 million and increase savings by more than $7.4 million. These results demonstrate the power of individualized financial counseling
- Expanded access: The FEC grows its staff capacity services to better serve residents. Starting with just two counselors, FEC has expanded to eight counselors, two of which are bilingual.
- Meeting residents where they are: In 2025, though an investment by Wells Fargo, the FEC reestablished a mobile financial counselor, expanding access to free, one-on-one financial counseling at the McGruder Family Resource Center in North Nashville. This partnership creates an intentional community-based approach to delivering financial empowerment services directly to residents who can benefit most from personalized financial guidance.
- Expanding programs: Programs such as Moving Men Forward, RESET and Legacy Planning expand the FEC’s role from financial stability to long-term economic mobility.
- New initiatives: Savings Accelerator Pilot Program- matched savings, coaching and planning help a participant move from financial stress toward a concrete goal such as emergency savings, homeownership, education, transportation or debt reduction.
Community Partners Fueling the Work
Through the year’s, the FEC’s growth has been made possible through strong public, nonprofit and financial-sector partnerships, including Regions Bank, the Mayor’s Office, AgeWell Middle Tennessee, AARP, Fifth Third, Wells Fargo, the Tennessee Alliance for Economic Mobility, Jackson Financial, Pinnacle and other community partners aligned around economic mobility.
Looking Ahead
The evolution of the Financial Empowerment Center is a story of momentum. It began with free, trusted financial counseling and has grown into a model for helping families build lasting economic security. As the FEC continues to expand its reach and deepen its partnerships, it offers a glimpse of what the next decade of financial empowerment can look like in Nashville: stronger financial habits, clearer goals and more pathways for families to build stability that lasts. Learn more about the FEC’s services here.